Kawasaki Saki!

Chapter 44: Kawasaki Saki!

Lunch break.

Luke carried his lunch towards the rooftop.

He didn't want to return to the classroom just yet; it was too noisy there.

He wanted some quiet during lunch.

This morning, he was called to the office by Hiratsuka Shizuka.

Although he won the cigarette war through psychological tactics, he forgot to ask Hiratsuka-sensei to let Yuigahama Yui join the Service Club.

Yuigahama Yui was good at reading the atmosphere, didn't care about Yukinoshita Yukino's 'keep-away' words, and being a girl gave her a natural advantage.

With her help dealing with Yukinoshita Yukino, he believed there was a high chance Hiratsuka Shizuka's request could be resolved.

However, after leaving the office and calming down, he dismissed the idea...

Making decisions for others wasn't right, after all.

And based on Yuigahama Yui's personality, if Hiratsuka-sensei sincerely asked her to join the Service Club, she would likely agree even if reluctant.

That result might be counterproductive.

So, he temporarily gave up the idea.

He'd wait for a chance to ask Yuigahama Yui himself.

The stairwell platform leading to the rooftop.

Unused desks and chairs were messily piled here, the passage so narrow only one person could pass at a time.

On the door leading to the roof, there was usually a small lock securing it firmly.

Of course, this lock was broken, dangling loosely, purely decorative.

Although he hadn't interacted with classmates, he still learned this information – from Hikigaya Hachiman.

Luke often saw him finding deserted places to eat.

So, when he couldn't stand the noisy chatter in the classroom anymore, he decisively asked Hikigaya.

Easily opening the rusty door, he arrived on the rooftop.

The entire empty rooftop had no other students or teachers, only him.

The quiet atmosphere allowed him, who usually maintained a positive mood, to relax.

Whether it was the positive emotions of joy, hope, curiosity, or the negative ones of fear, sadness, anger – maintaining any for too long could make one tired.

One needed to let their mood rest to feel the stimulation of emotions again.

Just like reading classic literature, only a calm mind could feel the power of the words and experience the emotions within.

Placing his lunch aside, he began stretching his body, which had become stiff after sitting all morning.

The high vantage point allowed him to gaze into the distance.

Luke couldn't help but stretch his waist—

"Ah!"

"Can you not make strange noises..."

A clear, cold voice.

Luke slowly lowered his hands, his heart sinking instantly.

Didn't expect someone else to be here.

Scanning the area, he didn't see the owner of the voice on this rooftop, but it probably wasn't a ghost; he guaranteed that with his professional knowledge.

"Where are you looking?"

There was a raised section on the roof.

Climbing the ladder to the top led to where the water tower was located.

Luke now found the person competing with him for this quiet place.

Looking up...

Blue hair reaching her waist, slowly fluttering in the wind.

The girl looked at him coolly.

As he remained silent, the beauty mark near the corner of the girl's eye wrinkled along with her narrowing eyes.

"What are you spacing out for... Forget it, I'll come down."

The girl slid lightly down the ladder from the high water tower...

The jacket tied around her waist fluttered gently with the hem of her skirt in the wind.

Mm, black.

Luke recalled her name.

She was his classmate.

Having trained himself to remember classmates' identities, he was no longer the same as before.

Digging deep into his memory, he slowly recalled—

"Kawasaki Saki-san?"

"Oh? You know me." Kawasaki Saki looked at him coolly, somewhat surprised he knew her.

"Of course... Right, what are you doing here?" Luke asked.

"I'm sunbathing. What? Is there a problem?" Kawasaki Saki's voice was listless, tinged with laziness, plus a little bit of malice.

"Oh, okay, sorry... I thought no one was here," Luke shook his head and walked back into the building.

He pulled out two chairs from among the scattered desks and benches, returned to the rooftop, and wiped them clean.

Seeing Kawasaki Saki fiddling with a lighter over there, Luke asked, "Right, Kawasaki-san, have you eaten yet?"

He had quickly prepared his instant soup and instant noodles with hot water right after lunch break ended and rushed straight to the rooftop...

Yet Kawasaki Saki-san was even faster.

"What business is that of yours? Just hurry up and eat your food," Kawasaki Saki frowned, looking somewhat impatient.

"Why is this one even colder than Yukinoshita..." Luke muttered speechlessly.

This girl was practically the same type as Yukinoshita, except she didn't mock him. She was even colder than Yukinoshita.

He took out a yakisoba bread from his shopping bag.

"This is for you..." Luke tossed the bread to her.

"Huh?!"

Kawasaki Saki, whose face was still cool and annoyed, suddenly widened her eyes, watching the bread fly over her head.

Her exposed long legs quickly jumped up to catch the flying bread.

According to Newton's law, her skirt naturally flew up again.

Heaven bear witness, he really didn't mean it.

He was just hungry.

"Wh-what is this?" Kawasaki asked.

"Bread, what else?" Luke picked up his own bread, lifted the lid of the instant soup, and took a small sip.

"N-no, I mean what's the meaning of this bread?" Kawasaki Saki seemed somewhat agitated.

"It's for you to eat," Luke said muffledly, his mouth full of bread.

"We don't even know each other well, why are you giving me bread?" Kawasaki Saki held the bread out.

"If you don't like it, just throw it away," Luke continued rummaging through his bag, swallowing the bread, his voice rising slightly.

Kawasaki Saki's body trembled.

Suddenly becoming flustered, she turned her face away, her body shaking nonstop, quickly muttering:

"I'll take it then, why are you getting angry?"

No idea how she concluded I was angry.

This female classmate is a bit too sensitive...

"I'm not angry. But Kawasaki-san... lunch isn't a small matter. No matter what happens, you can't skip lunch," Luke advised her.

"If you become weak from not eating lunch, it's easy to encounter unclean things walking at night."

"It's broad daylight, why are you saying such scary things?"

Kawasaki Saki could only accept his kindness, sitting down on the chair he had prepared nearby.

"Here." Luke handed her his only portion of instant soup.

Kawasaki Saki turned her face sideways towards him, her lips pouting slightly.

Her gaze shifted to the empty space nearby, then nervously flickered back to his fingers holding the instant soup container, which remained suspended in the air.

Even the beauty mark near her eye trembled along with her timid peeking.

"You already took the bread, one more thing won't hurt," Luke said simply.

Kawasaki Saki's gaze hovered between the empty space and his fingers.

A faint blush appeared on her cheeks, her eyes flashing with a trace of confusion.

Her fingers tightly gripped the edge of the chair beneath her.

After waiting a moment, Luke's hand still hung there.

Kawasaki Saki extended her fingers...

...

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